Components of Nutrition
Christopher Cumo in Ancestral Diets and Nutrition, 2020
Left of the zigzag line known as the staircase are metals, notable in electrons’ ability to move through them. To the right are nonmetals, which resist electron flow. For completeness, elements on the staircase have characteristics of metals and nonmetals, do not neatly fit either category, and are known as metalloids. Most mineral elements are metals. The major minerals are sodium, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium. Necessary in smaller amounts are the minor minerals: manganese, iron, zinc, iodine, fluorine, selenium, copper, chromium, cobalt, and molybdenum. Of these, only fluorine is a nonmetal. Although many nutritionists and dieticians do not consider chlorine a mineral, it appears to fulfill the criteria. It too is a nonmetal. Being in the column (group) of the Periodic Table known as the halogens, fluorine and chlorine share properties. The body needs chlorine as the electrolyte chloride and to make hydrochloric acid, which aids digestion.
Nutrients in Bamboo Shoots
Nirmala Chongtham, Madho Singh Bisht in Bamboo Shoot, 2020
Silicon (Si) is a non-metallic element and the second most abundant element in the Earth’s crust with a great affinity for oxygen, forming 92% silica and silicates. It is also the most abundantly available trace element after iron and zinc. Chemically, silica is an oxide of silicon, viz. silicon dioxide and is generally colourless to white and insoluble in water. When associated with metals or minerals the family of silicates is formed. Humans are exposed to numerous sources of silica/silicon including dust, food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and medical implants and devices. As a metalloid, silicon has been used in many industrial applications including use as an additive in the food and beverage industry. As a result, humans are exposed to silicon through both environmental exposures and also as a dietary component. Bamboo extract is the richest known source of natural silica, containing over 70% organic silica. This is more than 10 times the level found in the widely used Horsetail plant (Equisetum) that contains 5% to 7% silica.
Tin, Tumors, and the Thymus Gland*
Nate F. Cardarelli in Tin as a Vital Nutrient:, 2019
On the other hand, tin is found in all adult tissue as either a contaminate or as an essential element. The significant depletion of tin from neoplastic cells strongly supports the latter hypothesis. Since some structural forms serve as antitumoral agents, the OTC, especially the dialkyl and trialkyl compounds, have very select toxicity to malignant cells. Whether the mechanism is a simple ionic transport problem or a more complicated process is yet to be determined, but undoubtedly the controversy surrounding tin and its compounds will only grow before sufficient data are accumulated to fully understand the roll of this metalloid in human biochemistry.
Promising treatment strategies to combat Staphylococcus aureus biofilm infections: an updated review
Published in Biofouling, 2020
P. S. Seethalakshmi, Riya Rajeev, George Seghal Kiran, Joseph Selvin
Metalloids are elements which exhibit mixed properties of metals as well as non-metals (Yazdi et al. 2016). Metalloid nanoparticles have been used for various biomedical applications such as cancer therapy and in vivo imaging (Byrappa et al. 2008; Rabin et al. 2006). There are several reports of metalloid nanoparticles like silicon and selenium nanoparticles being used for biofilm inhibition of pathogenic bacteria. Shakibaie et al. (2015) reported that biologically synthesized selenium nanoparticles using Bacillus sp. MSh-1, inhibited biofilm formation by S. aureus at very low concentrations. Sonkusre and Cameotra (2015) biologically synthesized selenium nanoparticles using Bacillus licheniformis strain JS2 and reported that the adherence of S. aureus in catheters coated with nanoparticles was significantly reduced after 72 h. Selenium nanoparticles coated on polycarbonate films reduced biofilms by 27%, suggesting that manufacturing medical devices using polycarbonate incorporated with nanoparticles can prevent bacterial adherence (Wang and Webster 2012).
Analyzing pesticides and metal(loid)s in imported tobacco to Saudi Arabia and risk assessment of inhalation exposure to certain metals
Published in Inhalation Toxicology, 2022
Mohammed A. Al Mutairi, Hatim A. Al Herbish, Rakan S. Al-Ajmi, Hatim Z. Alhazmi, Reham A. Al-Dhelaan, Abdullah M. Alowaifeer
The toxic smoke generated from tobacco has both genotoxic and carcinogenic properties. Tobacco contains both organic and inorganic chemical compounds that could be carcinogenic to humans. Tobacco smoke is very toxic and harmful to human health since tobacco contains 4000 identified chemical compounds (Mussalo-Rauhamaa et al. 1986; El-Agha and Gökmen 2002). Among them are metals and metalloids, such as As, Cd, Cr, Ni, and Pb. Heavy metals are present in the MSS and SSS (Torrence et al. 2002; Stabbert et al. 2003; Chang et al. 2005). According to the literature, 2.0% of Cd, 5.8% of Pb, 2.0% of Cu in raw tobacco are transmitted to MSS (Mussalo-Rauhamaa et al. 1986). When people smoke, between 6 and 11% of Pb in raw tobacco is transferred to MSS; half of that amount is believed to reach the smokers' lungs (Galazyn-Sidorczuk et al. 2008). Furthermore, the levels of heavy metals in smokers' fat, blood, and liver are significantly higher than those of non-smokers (Mussalo-Rauhamaa et al. 1986; El-Agha and Gökmen 2002). Analysis of smoker's blood and urine showed that Cd concentrations were 2–4 times more in smokers than non-smokers (Galazyn-Sidorczuk et al. 2008). Most heavy metals can be either carcinogenic to the human body or have the likelihood to be carcinogenic to the human body (De Sousa Viana et al. 2011).
Occurrence, distribution, and environmental risk assessment of heavy metals in the vicinity of Fe-ore mines: a global overview
Published in Toxin Reviews, 2022
Prafulla Kumar Sahoo, Mike A. Powell, Gabriel Caixeta Martins, Roberto Dall'Agnol, Gabriel Negreiros Salomão, Sunil Mittal, Paulo Rógenes Monteiro Pontes, José Tasso Felix Guimarães, Jose Oswaldo de Siqueira
Mining is a key factor leading to socio-economic and infrastructure development like transport, aerospace, construction, packaging, energy, electronics, medical technology, etc. The impact of mining has been an issue of serious environmental concern; mainly heavy metal (HM) contamination, in many parts of the world (Li et al.2014, Sahoo et al.2016, Hosseini et al.2018). Heavy metals, and some associated metalloids, are defined differently based on the context and the field in which the term is being used and applied; geologists, physicists, toxicologists, medical practitioners, chemists, and others, all have their own criteria (Fernández-Luqueño et al.2013). The main threats to human health from HM exposure covered in this study are associated with Cd, Pb, Hg, Ni, Cr, and As (Li et al.2014, Hosseini et al.2018). Heavy metal toxicity may cause various acute or chronic diseases such as cancers, damage to DNA, lung function failure and many more (Kabata-Pendias and Mukherjee 2007, Fernández-Luqueño et al.2013).